April 16

Births

1924: Henry Mancini (Composer)

1924: Rudy Pompilli (Saxophone for Bill Haley and His Comets)

1930: Herbie Mann (Jazz Flutist)

1935: Bobby Vinton (Singer)

1939: Dusty Springfield (Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien) (Singer)

1943: Lonesome Dave Peverett (Guitar & Singer for Foghat)

1947: Gerry Rafferty (Singer / Songwriter)

1951: John Bentley (Bass for Squeeze)

1955: Kool Herc (Hip-Hop DJ)

1962: Ian MacKaye (Singer for Minor Threat & Fugazi)

1964: Dave Pirner (Lead Vocals & Guitar for Soul Asylum)

1965: Gerardo (Rapper)

1971: Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (best known as Singer Selena)

Events

1955: A young Roy Orbison sees Elvis for the first time, performing at the Sportatorium in Dallas, TX.

1964: The Rolling Stones released their first Album “The Rolling Stones” .  It charted for 40 weeks, 11 weeks at #1.

1964: The Beatles filmed the "chase scenes" for A Hard Days Night with actors dressed as policemen in the Notting Hill Gate area of London. In the evening they recorded the title track for the film, ‘A Hard Day's Night’ at Abbey Road. John and Paul had the title first, and had to write a song to order, completing the track in nine takes.

1965: The Hollies make their US stage debut at New York's Paramount Theatre.

1969: The Elektra label drops Detroit's MC5 from their roster after an infamous ad in a local music zine, complete with Elektra logo, advised buyers to "Stay alive with the MC5 -- and f*** Hudson's." Hudson's was a Michigan record chain that had refused to stock the band's latest album Kick Out The Jams, due to the lyric "Kick out the jams, m************!"

1971: The Rolling Stones released 'Brown Sugar' the first record on their own label, Rolling Stones Records, which introduces the infamous licking- tongue and lips logo.

1972: Electric Light Orchestra make their live debut at Croydon, England's Fox and Greyhound pub.

1973: Paul McCartney's first television special, James Paul McCartney, airs on ABC, featuring a few Beatles songs, new Wings tracks, sketches, and a final performance of a song called "Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance," originally written for Twiggy.

1974: Queen make their US live debut at Regis College in Denver, CO.

1976: Boz Scaggs goes to visit friend Bobby "Blue" Bland backstage at the famed Antone's in Austin, TX, and is beaten unconscious by two bouncers.

1977: Stevie Wonder becomes the proud father of his second child, son Kieta, by Yolanda Simmons.

1977: David Soul one half of TV cop show "Starsky & Hutch", went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Don't Give Up On Us', his only US hit.

1990: Neil Young, Natalie Cole, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Tracy Chapman, Simple Minds, and more take part in the concert Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa, an "international reception" for the famed civil-rights leader, who had just been released from a 27-year prison sentence.

1993: David Lee Roth was arrested in New York's Washington Square Park for allegedly buying a $10 bag of marijuana.

1993: Paul McCartney headlined a concert at the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate 'Earth Day' along with Ringo Starr, Don Henley and Steve Miller.  McCartney had last performed there as a member of the Beatles in 1965.

1993: Billy Burnette announced that he was leaving Fleetwood Mac to concentrate on recording country music.

1994: Toby Keith breaks his right ankle during the last play of a University of Oklahoma alumni football game.

1994: Prince had his first UK No.1 with 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World', (his 37th single release). It was his first release since changing his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol.

1994: Singer Harry Connick Jr weds model Jill Goodare.

1995: Bob Seger becomes the proud parent of his second child, daughter Samantha Char, by his second wife, Annette Sinclair.

1996: At tonight's Grammy Awards ceremonies in New York, KISS, back again in full makeup, announce their reunion and upcoming tour, the first time all four original members have taken the stage together since 1981.

1996: Judy Collins marries her second husband, designer Louis Nelson.

1997: Elton John is awarded an honorary membership to his old alma mater, Britain's Royal Academy of Music.

1997: R&B Singer Mark Morrison was convicted with threatening a police officer with an illegal 23,000-volt electric stun gun. The singer left Maryebone Magistrates' Court in tears after being warned he was likely to be sent to prison.

1999: Skip Spence (Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape) died from lung cancer, two days before his 53rd birthday. He had also battled schizophrenia and alcoholism.

2002 : Sony Music Entertainment filed a complaint against the Dixie Chicks for breach of contract.

2003: After suffering a stroke in his Manhattan apartment, Luther Vandross is admitted to a local hospital.

2003: Jerry Lee Lewis files for divorce from his sixth wife, former Jerry Lee Lewis fan club president Kerrie McCarver.

2008: Barbra Streisand donates $5 million to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for a women's heart education and research program.

April 15

Births

1894: Bessie Smith (Jazz & Blues Singer)

1933: Roy Clark (Country Singer & Guitarist)

1940: Clarence Satchell (Drummer for The Ohio Players)

1944: Dave Edmunds (Guitarist for Rockpile & Solo)

1965: Linda Perry (Singer / Songwriter for 4 Non Blondes)

1966: Samantha Fox (Pop Singer)

1967: Frankie Poullian (Bass for The Darkness)

1968: Ed O'Brien (Guitarist for Radiohead)

1980: Patrick Carney (Drummer for The Black Keys)

1982: Seth Rogan (Comedian)

Events

1956: Mitch Miller and DJ Alan Freed appear, along with two psychiatrists, on Eric Sevareid's television program CBS Sunday News to discuss the "potentially negative effects of Rock 'n' Roll on teenagers."

1958: Buddy Holly has his guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, stolen from the Crickets' station wagon while the group stops to have lunch before a concert in St. Louis, MO.

1964: After a long day of filming for their first movie, which is still titled Beatlemania!, The Beatles relax as Ringo Starr declares, oddly, that it's been "a hard day's night." John immediately begins writing the song of the same name on the back of an old greeting card; it will eventually become the title track for the film.

1966: Buffalo Springfield make their live debut, opening for the Byrds at the Orange County Showgrounds in San Bernardino, CA.

1971: At tonight's Oscar ceremonies in Los Angeles, The Beatles are awarded their one and only statuette, in the category of Original Song Score, for the title track to the film Let It Be.

1972: Roberta Flack started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'.

1978: The band Television were forced to postpone their gig at Bristol's Colston Hall after the 40 foot truck carrying their equipment was involved in a crash killing the driver.

1982: While riding his motorcycle in his native Long Island, New York (presumably not in the rain), Billy Joel slams into a moving car, breaking his wrist and requiring a month of hospitalization.

1989: Roy Orbison's comeback single, "You Got It," produced by Jeff Lynne, becomes his last big hit as it reaches the US Top Ten four months after his death from a heart attack.

1992: Queen reunites for a tribute charity concert dedicated to their fallen former leader, vocalist Freddie Mercury, who'd passed away from AIDS some six months earlier. Robert Plant, David Bowie, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, George Michael, Annie Lennox, Paul Young, Ian Hunter and Roger Daltrey, among others, show up to sing Freddie's and their own hits.

1995: Montell Jordan started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'This Is How We Do It”.

1996: The remainder of Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered near the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco; a week earlier, a portion had been scattered into India's Ganges river.

1996: Milli Vanilli singer Rob Pilatus was jailed for 90 days by a Los Angeles judge for three violent attacks and parole violation.

1999: The body of Tammy Wynette was exhumed from her grave in an attempt to settle a dispute over how the country music legend died. A new autopsy was conducted on her a week after three of her daughters filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her doctor and her husband and manager, George Richey, claiming they were responsible for her death 12 months ago. Richey said he had requested the autopsy because of the allegations made against him.

2001: Punk pioneer Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Ross Hyman) singer of The Ramones died after losing a long battle with lymphatic cancer aged 49.

2003: Beyonce was sued by the Wilhemina Artist Agency who claimed she hadn't paid them the commission for her L'Oral ads. The agency claimed the singer refused to pass on the 10 percent of the $1m deal that was brokered by the agency.

2008: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed this day as ‘Mariah Carey day’ in Los Angeles, California.

April 14

Births

1935: Loretta Lynn (Country Singer)

1945: Ritchie Blackmore (Guitarist for Deep Purple & Rainbow)

1964: Vinnie Moore (Guitar for UFO)

1965: Martyn LeNoble (Bass for Porno For Pyros)

1973: David Miller (Tenor in Il Divo)

1974: Da Brat (Shawntae Harris) (Rapper)

1980: Win Butler (Lead Vocalist & Songwriter for Arcade Fire)

Events

1759: George Frideric Handel died.

1960: Inspired by the hysteria surrounding Elvis Presley and his Army stint, the musical Bye Bye Birdie, starring Dick Van Dyke, Dick Gautier, and Paul Lynde opens on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre. It will run for 607 performances.

1963: The Beatles visit the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey, England, to see an unsigned band called The Rolling Stones.

1967: ABC-TV airs the final episode of their afternoon rock music variety show Where The Action Is, featuring the house band it made famous, Paul Revere and the Raiders.

1968: Famed producer Phil Spector takes his first wife, Ronnie Bennett of Ronettes fame. The legendarily unhappy marriage will finally end in 1972.

1969: The Monkees' dismal last gasp, the NBC-TV special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee, airs to bad ratings and worse reviews.

1969: In a first for the Academy Awards, the Oscar for Best Actress is a tie: Katherine Hepburn for The Lion In Winter and Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl.

1970: Stephen Stills breaks his wrist while driving into a parked car, forcing the cancellation of CSNY's upcoming American tour.

1971: The Illinois Crime Commission issued a list of 'drug-oriented records' including 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane, 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' by Procol Harum and The Beatles 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.'

1973: Led Zeppelin started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Houses Of The Holy', also a No.1 in the US. The young girl featured on the cover of the album climbing naked up Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland is Samantha Gates who was 6 years old at the time of the photo shoot.

1974: Pete Townshend of the Who makes his solo concert debut at the Roundhouse in London, backed solely by his own pre-recorded audio tapes.

1975: After a long audition process during the recording of their album Black and Blue, and after a slew of rumors about who would fill the position, the Rolling Stones announce former Faces member Ron Wood as their new guitarist, replacing the departed Mick Taylor.

1976: Stevie Wonder signs the largest music contract to that time when he resigns with Motown/Tamla for $13 million.

1980: New Jersey considers a resolution to make Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run" the new official state anthem, but eventually designate it as merely the Garden State's "rock anthem."

1980: Olivia Newton John's TV special Olivia's Hollywood Nights, also starring Elton John, The Carpenters, and Andy Gibb, airs on ABC.

1983: The Pretenders bass player Pete Farndon died from a drug overdose. He was fired from the group on June 14th 1982, (two days before Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott was found dead of heart failure). Farndon was in the midst of forming a new band with former Clash drummer Topper Headon when he died.

1988: Public Enemy released their 2^nd album “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back”.  Considered on many publications lists as the greatest hip-hop album of all time, the album would finish at number 48 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time, the highest ranking hip-hop album on the magazine’s list. The Source Magazine rated it as the greatest hip-hop album ever.

1989: Tom Petty released his first solo album "Full Moon Fever."

1999: Tammy Wynette's body was exhumed and an autopsy performed in Nashville at the request of her husband, George Richey.

2001: Sean Puffy Combs (P. Diddy) was arrested in Miami for riding a scooter in South Beach on a suspended driver's license. He was released 20 minutes later after signing a promise to appear in court.

2002: Ashanti started a ten week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Foolish' and on the same day started a three week run at No.1 on the US album chart with her self-titled album.

2003: A man was arrested accused of making up a Bjork concert then selling tickets. Alex Conate allegedly sold tickets worth $14,000 at $40 each after persuading a San Diego nightclub owner that Bjork had agreed to play there. He was accused of taking the money and moving to Hawaii, where he was arrested.

2007: Don Ho died in Waikiki from heart failure.

2008: Liverpool's John Moore University names a new Chancellor -- Queen's Brian May.

2009: George Harrison is posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine -- not coincidentally in front of the offices of George's old US label, Capitol.